Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Nikon in animal hunting protests

I was a photographer before I got into video and owned several Nikon cameras. However, a few weeks ago I found a Facebook
group (Boycott Nikon)
that were highlighting Nikon’s involvement in the US market of animal hunting
accessories. This is not what I expected from the company.

In particular, one of Nikon’s websites is specifically
dedicated to hunting: http://nikonhunting.com/
and promotes hunting accessories and links to websites promoting the killing of elephants, tigers, lions for fun
or sport

People have logged complaints with
both Nikon Europe and Nikon US asking them to clarify what is their
official company stand on hunting. The answers received so far
are disappointing and I quote:

“Being a premier
optics manufacturer if there is a market to which we can offer our
considerable services then we will facilitate where possible. It’s with
this in mind that Nikon provide the rifle scope product range. Rifle
shooting is a sport and sportsmen within the field require optics.
Regarding hunting specifically, Nikon’s stance is that in certain parts
of world it is perfectly legal and considered a sport. In the UK Nikon
do not distribute the rifle scope line-up directly as there is little
market for it, however in the US, for example, there is a very sizeable
hunting market to which we are happy to provide the optical tools that
allow them to get the most out of their chosen sport.'

It’s worth mentioning
that Nikon have buckled to public pressure in the past: back in 2009
they were forced to retract from a predator hunting derby in Idaho (US)
due to public pressure. A predator derby is a killing spree of
carnivorous animals where hunters compete against each other on the
clock to kill as many carnivores as possible in 24 hours. There are no
tags, permits, or government oversight.